Mildred

Mildred’s owner passed away, leaving her in the house for a while until a neighbor realized she was there. She came to the shelter with long matted fur, maggots in her ears and bottom, and a malignant mammary tumor the size of a grapefruit hanging between her legs. She came to her ODH home stinking and stressed but wagging that little tail and she never stopped wagging. She had to be shaved under sedation for the vet to examine her, she was too painful to allow it otherwise. Underneath we found a really beautiful sable-colored (very rare) cocker with a cheery personality and lots of energy, who loved to cuddle and chase bunnies out of the pasture.

Our plan was to remove the tumor immediately, but complications kept developing – kennel cough, her heart, then a seizure that really confused her. Knowing that the chance of her surviving the surgery now was very slim but that she couldn’t continue without the tumor being removed, and that it had likely already metastasized, we said goodbye peacefully.

She was loved a great deal and she seemed to love us back – we will remember her determined fullspeed trots after those bunnies and that constant wag.